The LEVEL 11 blog

In Lewis Carroll's classic story, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat famously said to a wandering Alice, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." Essentially, if you haven't determined where you want to end up, the value of a decision is meaningless. Often, businesspeople will make marketing decisions the same way; they'll have no clear objective (though they say, the objective is to "make money"). Marketing decisions shouldn't be made when sales are down, and you want to give things a "jump start", and such decisions shouldn't be limited to your current understanding of your options... you NEED to learn and truly understand your options and their forecasted impact on the profitability of your business.

A pilot once said that for every single degree you fly off course, you will miss your target landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly. That equates to about one mile off target for every sixty miles flown. To further illustrate this, if you decided to start at the equator and fly around the earth, one degree off would land you nearly 500 miles off target. The longer you travel off course, the further you will be away from the intended target. Because of this, you need to be evaluating not only prospective ("new") marketing opportunities, but also your current situation. Odds are, there's at least something that you currently do (your "old faithful") that seems profitable. A maxim we often share in business is "what got you here won't get you there", meaning that while you've had great success with that radio Ad or that mailer in the past, the future business landscape is evolving so quickly and your competition is benefitting from constantly improving tactics and methods of marketing that by staying the course, you may very well be sabotaging your own future.

​Asking the right questions will give you the best start in evaluating your current and future marketing options. Following is a list to help you begin to develop the necessary train of thought to critically evaluate options:

Who is my true target audience? Different marketing methods reach different people more effectively than others, resulting ultimately in better ROI. A good example of the glorious ignorance of one's target audience is a jewelry store advertising for engagement rings on local radio. The lion's share of engagements rings are sold to men in their 20's, and statistically very few of those people listen to local radio. Why not consider increasing your presence online on those phones that kids can't go a minute without looking at?

What do I need to sell for the marketing to pay for itself? This question is often overlooked. While a small business owner may see a proposal for $2k/mo. in advertising and think that there's no way to afford that, a wise business owner knows they need to sell just a handful of extra widgets to pay for that marketing. We have many clients that need literally just a couple new customers every YEAR to pay for the entire year of marketing, and anything above and beyond that is just free money to them. If you'd need 500 new clients this month to pay for your marketing, and that would be doubling your current level of business, perhaps you should look into a smaller marketing budget to start with before snowballing to a larger budget.

If I'm being pitched by an agency or salesperson, what's their track record? Anybody selling anything should be able to speak from experience in some way. Whomever you're talking to should be able to discuss case studies that are similar to your situation, or at the very least, should have a good enough understanding of their offering to be able to foresee how your business will benefit (or not benefit) from the offering. Asking for references is never out of line.

How can I measure the effectiveness? If you can't measure the impact of something, it's not worth doing. Some companies (***cough cough Dex***) share very little actual data with customers, and hold Ad accounts hostage so customers are unable to see for themselves what is happening with their money. Other companies actually avoid gathering data on results because it paints an ugly picture (tales of radio stations unsubscribing to reporting data on the amount of daily listeners because the number has gotten so low... it's easier to sell a radio ad by saying "every car has a radio" than by saying "only about 15% of the market actually listens to the radio"). If it can't be measured, don't do it. Everything from social media to pay-per-click to other "traditional" forms of marketing should come accompanied with real, actual data. Insist on it.

Do I understand the form of marketing well enough to be comfortable and confident? To the business owner who has always advertised on TV and wants to be "online" in some way, know that you don't need to just close your eyes and hope for the best. You can and should be able to learn everything you need to know to feel comfortable cutting that check. Many internet marketers position their product or service in a way that deflects questions; they'll say they have the "secret sauce" or that they work their "magic" to get your website ranked on the top of Google. There is no secret sauce and there sure as heck isn't any magic! Getting ranked is a science, so it can be explained the same way a chemical reaction or a physics experiment cam be explained. There's a wealth of articles and studies available online, so you can learn all you want. You shouldn't turn down a great opportunity just because you don't understand... learn about it so you can make an educated decision! And as a marketer, I wouldn't want you to commit to me if you didn't understand the planned strategy either... my success in serving you is based on your expectations of what I do and the results thereof, and your expectations need to be based on a clear understanding of my intentended marketing plan.

Do we have the data and information we need to make a diagnosis or decision? I would never propose a course of action to a client without thoroughly discussing and analyzing the situation. Just the same way, a business owner shouldn't make a decision without first gathering all the possible data and information possible.

Are we using the right metrics? Different forms of marketing are measured differently. Business owners and marketers alike should regularly confirm that each tactic is properly measured, evaluated and then linked to the long-term, strategic goals of the company. Managers should also be mindful that an unhealthly focus on metrics is not a replacement for solid business and creative judgment.

What is the timline for doing actual work and seeing actual results? Creating a clearly defined plan of action is essential, coupled with realistic expecations and accountability measures.

What is my competition doing? No, don't just copy every little thing your main competitor down the street does, but it's important to be aware. If they catch a wave, you don't want to miss it, and if they make a mistake, you want to learn from it.

There are many more questions you should ask when evaluating any and all marketing efforts. Taking an inquisitive approach to your evaluation and research will help you to be thorough and make the right decision. As the famous data scientist Charles Deming once said, "without data, you're just another person with an opinion." Having all the information you need will help you to be certain about your decision and be more profitable.

​About us: Level 11 Online Marketing is a fast growing digital advertising agency that is becoming known for disrupting the status quo. We specialize in digital advertising, video production, SEO, SEM, advanced analytics, custom web solutions via website design & implementation, social media strategies and conversion optimization. Headquartered in Utah, you will find Level 11 team members throughout Utah, Nebraska, Arizona, California, Idaho, and Colorado. We have the best creative minds in the industry backed up by the most talented software developers and video production teams, resulting in powerful, efficient advertising campaigns.

If you have questions, comment here or email us at info@level11.io today!